How Much Longer Will the Situation Stay Melo?

The Carmelo Anthony saga continues as the New York Knicks have failed to reach an agreement with another organization to trade the 10 time All-Star. Relentless reports continue to stir the pot that is Kyrie Irving’s intention to leave Cleveland and that his desire to play for New York has been made known to the public. People ask, “why can’t the Cavs work out a deal that includes Melo for Kyrie?” The answer is simple; Everyone knows the possibility of Lebron bolting Cleveland again to a different team. Carmelo is 33 years old and past his prime, still a capable scorer, Melo realizes that a potential roster could be a dynamic duo of just him and Kevin Love. Not to say it’s a bad combination, but the Cavs would not have enough space to entice more superstars. Good thing he has a no-trade clause in his contract, or else the Knicks would have likely shipped him to a garbage team for young prospects. The ball is in Anthony’s court at the end of the day and when the day is over, the only destination he desires is the Houston Rockets.

A team with Chris Paul and James Harden? Now that’s a great response to the Golden State Warriors. There can’t just be one super team in the NBA and organizations are starting to realize that. If you’re a GM, you have two choices; sign big-name players in an attempt to create a challenging super team, or relentlessly tank until you’re the 76ers with a stack of young guys just waiting to tap into their potential. Houston has decided to take the fast track to success with the acquisition of Chris Paul and pairing him with the league leader in assists, James Harden. Now to add to the scoring punch is Carmelo, who will still give you just over 20 a game while likely shooting at a higher percentage due to the scoring capability of everyone on the roster. It would be incredulous to think that Houston will stop launching shots from downtown with Anthony and Paul in the mix. The question is; how can these two teams create a fair trade and please everyone? The answer is there is no way that will happen. Carmelo’s worth and his contract do not match what Houston should offer. The Knicks have expressed they don’t want Ryan Anderson, given his injury history and his contract, why would anyone want that. Another point is that Houston can give Eric Gordon and a draft pick in 2019 and call that one of their best offers. The Rockets traded Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer and a 2018 first-round pick to get Paul which basically gutted half of their roster.

Now that Phil Jackson is out of the office (finally) the Knicks are free to hopefully rebuild with their foundation cornerstone in Kristaps Porzingis and rookie point guard Frank Ntilikina. A trade for Carmelo should be imminent to upstart the rebuild and if the organization can comprehend rookie mistakes, we could see a nice turn-around for the lowly Knicks in the future.